Government officials stated on Wednesday that Meta can no longer be viewed merely as a “simple intermediary”. They assert that the company has evolved into a “service provider” due to its algorithms that influence content visibility. As service providers bear significant responsibilities, officials emphasize that Meta must accept greater accountability moving forward.
Government sources asserted that just as service providers have many responsibilities, the social media company must take more onus going forward.
Until now, Meta has reported child safety cases to the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. To a specific question on whether Meta loses its legal immunity in such a case, the sources maintained that it is up to the court to decide. Ultimately, the interpretation of law is the domain of the judiciary, they pointed out. The government’s firm position on the issue comes amid growing scrutiny of social media companies in India, and indeed globally, over concerns ranging from online addiction and mental health harms to algorithmic bias, harmful content and the role of recommendation systems in amplifying or shaping what users see. Meta has agreed to report child safety-related matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), as the government pushes social media platforms for stronger safeguards and greater accountability amid a crackdown on child sexual abuse material and other harmful content online. Meta, headquartered in the United States, is the first major tech intermediary to commit to establishing a direct reporting pipeline to Indian law enforcement agencies. India has stepped up scrutiny of social media platforms over harmful and illegal online content, including child sexual abuse material and deepfakes. It has issued notices to Meta over its handling of such content and recently summoned the company’s global executives to India, as the Centre pressed platforms for faster takedown of harmful content and stronger safeguards – warning them, in clear terms, that failure to comply with Indian law will not be tolerated. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered Instagram to disable all ads and content promoting and facilitating access to CSEAM, and demanded a detailed explanation. Multiple rounds of discussions with Meta’s top executives followed, in which the IT Ministry made it unequivocally clear that such content constitutes a violation and cannot be covered by safe-harbour protection. NCPCR sought an explanation from Meta in the matter, and Meta submitted its response a week later. NCPCR has since decided to institute a formal inquiry to determine the facts of the case. In continuation of this inquiry, it has once again summoned the Managing Director and Head of Meta India. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
“But we believe they do not have the immunity,” government sources said. Emphasising that every service provider has certain responsibilities, sources said that Meta’s move now to take responsibility for content on its platform marks a significant shift in its stance in the social media space. “Service providers have many responsibilities…once Meta has agreed to be responsible for what they have on the platform, then as the next steps, they have to start taking many more responsibilities,” sources said. Meta, sources said, has clearly admitted its mistake and committed to reporting child abuse content to Indian law enforcement agencies. Protecting children on digital platforms is a priority for the company, a Meta spokesperson on Tuesday said, adding that “We’re committed to working with the government to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held responsible”. “To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by I4C,” the Meta spokesperson had said. Earlier on Tuesday, government sources said that online safety of children is a “fundamental principle” for any social media platform operating in India and is absolutely “non-negotiable”.
